This Paint Roller Tray with Cover, and hereinafter referred to as the "Paint Tray", was devised and invented by Homer Douglas Hocking, and relates to the construction of a one-piece molded and closeable paint roller tray, with attached cover. The present Paint Tray invention may accommodate a standard size paint tray liner (35), and the attached cover of said Paint Tray may be closed by the user, and with said liner (35) within said tray. The present Paint Tray invention may also accommodate standard size painting tools, such as a paint brush (37) and a paint roller with handle (36), out of the Paint Tray's paint well (11), and with the Paint Tray's cover (1) in the closed position. A preferred embodiment of the present Paint Tray invention is also stackable in the closed position, and with paint (38) and painting tools within said tray, thereby preserving the paint (38) for a few days, if need be, until a painting job is resumed.
Paint roller trays are typically manufactured in three sizes: commercial size, residential size, and mini size. The present Paint Tray invention may be manufactured in any size, including the above mentioned three sizes. In a primary embodiment, the Paint Tray is intended for use as a standard sized, commercial paint tray, and may, as indicated above, house a paint tray liner (35), in either the opened or closed positions. Paint tray liners are also manufactured in a standard size, and which will house the roller portion of a standard sized paint tray roller with handle (36), along the width of said liner (35).
The Paint Tray is manufactured by a molding process, and preferably by thermal formed molding. The Paint Tray is composed essentially of a polymeric material, which is durable, chemically compatible with commercial paint (38), and strong enough to house a full paint well (11). Such polymeric materials include PETE, and material olefins, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and clarified polypropylene if the Paint Tray is to also display products contained therein, such as a paint brush (37), paint roller with handle (36), and the like.
In some embodiments, a suitable colorant may be added to the polymeric formulation, to add the desired coloration to the Paint Tray. In some preferred embodiments of the Paint Tray, graphite particles or fibers may be added to the polymeric formulation, such as PETE, in order to achieve a non-stick quality to the tray body (2) or to a similarly composed paint tray liner (35), if the paint should dry; in which case, the hardened paint could be knocked out of the tray body (2) or the liner (35). A preferred embodiment of the Paint Tray would have a black or clear coloration, because the other colorations may interfere with the user's judgement in mixing paints and achieving the desired color or shade.